


Getting Over A Breakup in Too Many Easy Steps

by bluemandycat



Category: Renegade X Series - Chelsea M. Campbell
Genre: Breakup, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Manic Damien, The Petemien in This is Bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 12:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8891095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemandycat/pseuds/bluemandycat
Summary: Kat breaks up with Damien, so naturally he calls Riley over.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic has been sitting half-done for months.
> 
> AKA, "I was unsatisfied with the dealing of Damien's Pete trauma in The Haunting of Renegade X and also I like Rilien."
> 
> Enjoy!

            Riley’s phone buzzed at 10pm on a Saturday night, just as he was mulling over the idea of going to bed. The text (unsurprisingly) was from Damien, and it read: _ry could you come over like right now like right now right now_.

 

            Riley furrowed his brow and replied: _Dude, what’s up?_ A response came not even fifteen seconds later.

 

            _kat broke up with me and im kind of freaking out right now and i dont want to break anything or do anything crazy so could you come over like right now so i can talk about it_

            Before Riley could respond, his phone buzzed again.

           

            _sorry dude i know its late_

 

            Riley texted back: _I’ll be over in fifteen minutes._ Damien needed him. Bedtime could wait.

 

            Fifteen minutes later, Riley was pulling up to the Tines house. When he opened the door, only Amelia was up. She gave him a once-over.

 

            “Did Zach come with you?” she asked, in a tired tone.

 

            Riley shook his head. “Nah, sorry. I’m here for Damien.”

 

            Amelia groaned. “Thank god. He’s been pissy all night cause Kat broke up with him. He’s upstairs.” Riley nodded and climbed the stairs, up to the attic.

 

            He could immediately tell which room was Damien’s, because of the loud, sad, annoying breakup music playing in one of the rooms. He knocked, just for courtesy, and then let himself in.

 

            Damien was pacing in his room to the tempo of the music. He looked up in Riley’s direction. “Hey, Ry. Thanks for coming. You’re just in time to help me take down all this stuff.”

 

            “Uh, what stuff?” Riley asked. Damien gestured wildly.

 

            “ _Everything_ , dude. This place is like a fucking Kat museum, and I’m sick of it. I just want it all gone.”

 

            “You’re really torn up about this, huh?” Riley asked. Damien shrugged and didn’t say anything, just grabbed a couple of boxes out of his closet. Riley continued, “We can talk while we clean up.”

 

            Damien grabbed a framed picture of him and Kat and put it in the box a bit more violently than necessary. “I was worried I would break something if I didn’t have someone around, and Sarah would probably try to diagnose me or fix me with some sort of machine if I called her. But now you’re here! Yay!”

 

            Riley cocked an eyebrow. “Do you always get this manic when you’re upset?”

 

            Damien shrugged. “Pretty much. Last time this happened I didn’t have anyone to talk to, because my best friend and my girlfriend both turned out to be complete dicks.”

 

            It takes Riley a second to realize what Damien’s talking about. “Oh. Yikes. I’m sorry, dude. At least you have me to talk to this time.” He took down a poster for some band. “Band poster. Yay or nay?”

 

            “That’s Kat’s favorite band. Put it in the box so I don’t have to look at it ever again.” Riley complied.

 

            “So what happened, dude?” Riley asked.

 

            “I don’t even know, man. She told me that our relationship was flawed because of the whole Pete thing! Because of Pete!” Damien laughed unhappily. “I killed that bastard twice and he’s still fucking up my life!”

 

            Riley sighed. “From what I met of Pete, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to let you forget him easily.”

 

            Damien laughed again. “Yeah, I’ll say. She said that she looks at me, and all she sees is that day on the rooftop! I mean, fair enough, but she blames me for all of that! And then she has the balls to tell me we can still be friends. I mean, what kind of shit is that?”

 

            Riley shrugged. “Trauma doesn’t make sense. Sometimes the brain associates weird things with bad memories. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with you.”

 

            Damien groaned. “Do you have to be so reasonable all the time?” He slammed a figurine on the floor. It bounced and landed on its side, but didn’t shatter. He stared down at it. “I thought that would break. That would have been so much cooler if it had broken.”

 

            Riley had to laugh at that. “Sorry, dude. The universe just can’t cut you a break, huh?”

 

            “I’ll say,” said Damien. “Anyways, I was there on the rooftop too, but you don’t see me complaining about it. Plus, Pete made me kiss his shoe, and jump off a roof, so it’s not like I was just standing around!”

 

            “Kiss his shoe? What?” asked Riley. “You never told me about that.”

 

            “Well, it happened, Riley,” Damien said flatly. He walked over to his bed and fell-face first on top of it. He did not move.

 

            “You okay, man?” Riley asked.

 

            “Pete left me with a lot of really weird traumas and that’s part of the reason I had a hard time liking you at first,” was the muffled reply.

 

            Riley walked over and sat next to Damien on the bed. “You wanna talk about it?”

 

            Damien picked his head up and stared at Riley. “I’m sad about Kat, remember?”

 

            “I know, X, but maybe it would be better to talk about this? To distract you, of course.” Riley patted the spot next to him on the bed. Damien sighed, got up, and sat almost on top of Riley.

 

            “I don’t know, man. He was a fucked up person,” Damien started.

 

            “You were friends for years, though, right?” asked Riley.

 

            “Closer than friends, even. I knew him since we were really little. He was like my big brother. And then he _wasn’t_ anymore.”

 

            “When he kissed Kat, you mean?” Riley asked. Damien shook his head.

 

            “Before that. I guess when I started going through puberty, he stopped being an older brother figure. I don’t know if it was him that changed, or me, but it was something.”

 

            “What are you saying?” said Riley.

 

            “Pete was my first crush,” said Damien, not making eye contact. “And first kiss, technically. I was fourteen when it started, and he was fifteen. We spent a whole summer together—he told you about that, right?—and I kissed him halfway through it. That was it for about a year.”

 

            Riley’s head spun. “You two were _together_?”

 

            Damien shrugged. “Yeah. It was kind of terrible, though. He was always a little possessive with me, even through the good times. He always referred to me as ‘my boy.’” Riley nodded, remembering from the bank. “Eventually, I ended it, and I thought he was fine with it, but I think he kind of hated that I started dating Kat.”

 

            “So then why’d he kiss her?” asked Riley.

 

            “I don’t know. Revenge. Don’t ask me how his mind works. Anyways, Kat was drunk at one of his parties, and I panicked and kissed him to get him to leave her alone.”

 

            “Like a human shield?” Riley said.

 

            “Yeah. I knew it would be the one thing to catch him off-guard, especially since I ended it.” Damien laughed bitterly. “Ended up backfiring, though. He locked me in a _bedroom_ before going to take over the world, and mind-controlled me and made me kiss his shoe. _With tongue._ ” He poked his tongue out, remembering.

 

            “Yikes,” said Riley, processing. “That is so much more fucked up than I would have expected.”

            “That’s Pete for you!” said Damien, fake-cheerfully. “Anyways, Pete left me with a whole bunch of traumas about friendships with guys and relationships with guys, and that’s why I had trouble becoming friends with you.”

 

            “Pete’s why you broke my finger?” said Riley.

 

            “Indirectly, yes,” replied Damien.

 

            “So you’re…” Riley trailed off, trying to figure out how to phrase it. “I mean, sexuality-wise, you’re…?”

 

            “Bisexual,” finished Damien.

 

            “Oh, cool, cool,” said Riley, filing away this information for later. “Same here.”

 

            Damien arched an eyebrow at him. “No kidding?” he asked. Riley nodded. “Well,” Damien said. “I knew there was something up with you and Mason.”

 

            “Oh, man, if we’re talking ‘bad first crushes,’ then Mason was mine,” Riley said. After a moment, he added, “Not as bad as yours, but in hindsight, young me was very dumb.”

 

            “Why, is he anti-gay?” asked Damien.

 

            “Nah, he’s gay, he’s just also an asshole,” said Riley.

 

            “Darn, I wanted one more reason to hate Mason,” griped Damien.

 

            “What, him leaving me to die wasn’t good enough?” teased Riley. Damien rolled his eyes. “Pete was gay?”

 

            “Pete was gay, but he told everyone he was straight. And then he’d turn around and kiss me up against a wall. That boy was severely in the closet, even to himself, up until the day he died,” Damien said.

 

            “Well, hey,” said Riley. “That’s one more thing you have on him. The ability to be out and accepting of yourself.”

 

            Damien snorted. “Dating sucks. Dating guys sucks. Dating girls sucks. Dating people in general sucks. Life sucks. I want to die.” Damien stretched out his legs and leaned back. Riley imitated him.

 

            “You don’t want to die, dude. And dating doesn’t suck. I’ve dated some very nice people.”

 

            Damien glared at him. “Of course _you’ve_ dated nice people. You’re Riley Perkins. You’re Mr. Perfect.” Riley’s face got warm. “Not me. Guys use me, and girls break my heart.”

 

            “I don’t use you. Sarah didn’t—” Riley stopped, catching himself.

 

            “Uh, so Sarah definitely _did_ break my heart. And you don’t use me, but you’re like, the one exception.”

 

            “Am I a good exception?” Riley asked tentatively.

 

            Damien sighed. “Right now, your exception is the one solid thing in my world right now.” He leaned his head on Riley’s shoulder. “Wow, that was probably a jumbled mess of nothing. Thanks for letting me vent, though. It was…nice to get it all out in the open.”

 

            “No problem, dude. It means a lot to me that you’d talk to me about this stuff,” said Riley.

 

            Damien’s eyes were fluttering shut. “You’re a good friend, Riley,” he said softly, and then he was asleep on Riley’s shoulder.

 

            Riley smiled, put an arm around Damien, and went to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> It's 2:30 AM. Choices to write were made upon this evening.
> 
> Kudos/Comments/Messages to bluemandycat on Tumblr/Art??? appreciated!


End file.
